Cutter.



A. A ARNOLD.

CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN'.9, 1911.

1,230,551. v Patented June 19, 1917.

FUZZY ii 11111111! I UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn.

ARTHUR A. ARNOLD, O13 SOUTHIBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE TO AMERICANOPTICAL COMPANY, OF SOUTHBBIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARY ASSQCIA-TION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

co'r'rnn.

I Specification of Letters IEatent.

Patented June 19, 1917.

Application filed. January 9,- 1917. Serial No. 141,431.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, A. AnNoLn, a citizen of the United States, residingat Southbridge, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cutters, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cutters and has particularreference to that type of cutter adapted for cutting ophthalmic lensesor the like in oval and other varying shapes.

One of the leading objects of the present invention is the provision ofan improved cutter which shall be substantially complete in itself andmay be used to cut a maximum number of varying shapes and sizes oflenses without the necessity for multiplicity of adj t n s n ar ngem ofth Part or substitution of parts, as is at present the common practice.

A he o ject Qf-t e p ent in en en is the provision of a constructionwhich maybe readily employed for cutting various lens surfaces or thelike, that is to say, such as plano concave or convex surfaces, wit thesame cutting point.

A further object of the present invention is an increased simplificationof theseveral parts of a lens cutter coupled with an increasedefficiency of operation,

Other objects and advantages of my improved construction should bereadily apparent by reference to the following specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and itwill be understood that I may make any modifications in the specificdetails of construction shown anddescribed within the scope of theappended claims without departing from or exceeding the spirit of myinvention. 7 7

Figure I represents a perspective view of a complete cutter embodying myseveral improvements. r

Fig. II represents a detail perspective view of the contact shoe.

Fig. III represents an enlarged detailed view of the scale or Vernierfor use in connection with my improved adjustable dia: mond.

vFig. IV represents a similar view of a modified construction,

ig- V p ese s a tailed view at a ig. V p esents s c i n l v ew thereof.

Fig- VII represents a f rther modifi ation of my construction. I I

In the drawings, in which similar characters of reference are employedto denote corresponding parts throughou e severa v w he num a 1 designae the base o my imp o ed cutte ha ng ris gerefrom the pedestal 2, onwhich i rotatahly mounted the lens supp ting able 3, dapted t be rotatedby turning of t e an le 4 on the gear 5 which is suppo t d ch re thtable 3 y thehraeket 6 on th s ndard 7;

a shaft being journaled in the standard 7 and ha lng pini ns o its;opposite nd meshing resp ively withthe othed edg of the able. 3,and thete th of hegea 5 to cause synchronous rotation of these parts,

preferably provided for retaining the lens in position on the table,while an arm or frame 10 is pivoted to the-standard 7 and provided withformer engaging portions and with a cutter for operating upon the lensPrior to my invention, however, it has been customary to provide asuitable former rotating synchronously with the lens on the lens table,a plurality. of interchangeable formers V ordinarily being employed andadapted to be substituted one for the othe on the former bearing spindle11 according to the particularshape desired, In addition it has beencustomary inthe past to proide the ivoted. arm r frame 10 with. a pairof spa ed. forme ngaging sh es and. t regulate h r lati e mens ens oithe shape produced by separation or bringing together of the sh nd adonally to correspond:- ingly v ry both th m j r an in r x s, of

the hepe' y m v g th ct sh es in e o re ative, o t pi te rm. 1 t.- isther fore, on at h ssential B131? lig tly odified const u on ofadjustable d am nd supp rtcooperation with this battery of formers, I

have rotatably mounted in the upper portion of the arm or frame 10, thespindle 13, bearing at one end the knurled indicator 14 and at the otherend the contact head 15. This contact head, as is most clearly shown inFig. II, is provided on its face with the irregularly shaped star wheelprojecting rib 16, the various portions of the rib 16 being disposed atdiiferent distances from the point of rotation or axis of the spindle 13so that turning of the head 15, as by manipulation of the knurledoperating portion 14:, will selectively engage diii'erent portions ofthe rib with different formers, suitable designations, as the numerals17, on the knurled head 14: indicating which particular former the ribis engaging for any particular ad justment of the parts. It is to beunderstood that the thickness or distance from the face of the rib 16 tothe head 15 is sufiicient to at all times maintain the head 15 out ofengagement with the series of forms or formers 12, irrespective of theadjustment of the rib to engage any particular former, such as thelowest or smallest one, so that the head will at all times exactlyfollow the particular former selected.

While it will be understood in connection with the present inventionthat the in and out adjustment may if desired be applied either to thecontact shoe or to the diamond, I have found that for convenience ofconstruction and manipulation of the parts it is preferable to applythis adjustment to the diamond or cutting point. In carrying out thisportion of my invention I form the lower part of the arm or frame 10with the enlargement 18, in which is slidably mounted the carrier bar19, whose position is controlled by the adjusting screw 20 having theknurled operating head 21. This carrier bar 19 has pivoted to its innerend or adjustably supported thereby, the cutter head 22 may be providedwith a plurality of sockets 24: or the like, adapted to receive the endof the latch member 25 to lock the head in any desired adjustedposition.

In the form illustrated in Fig. I it will be noted that the position ofthe diamond relative to the lens is somewhat varied in a setting fromconcave to convex cutting position, due to the center about which thehead 22 turns.

In order that allowance may be readily made for this feature I havefound a very simple and convenient way of indicating the size and at thesame time making allowance for the angle at which the cutter is set. Inthe indicating of the in and out adjustment of the point of the diamondcombined with the compensation for tilting of it, I prefererably form onthe bar 19 a rack 26 adapted to mesh with the indicator pinion 27 whichbears on its upper end the collar 28 provided with the centralgraduation 29 for plano position, and the side graduations 30 and 31 forconvex and concave, respectively. The micrometer scale plate 32 issecured on the bracket 18 and locked in adjusted position as by thescrew 33, thus permitting of adjustment of the scale as an entirety totake care of wear or the like. The operation of this scale should bereadily understood and it will be seen that upon rotation of theadjusting screw 20 by means of the head 21 the in and out movement ofthe bar 19 will, through the rack and pinion, rotate the collar 28, andthe adjustment can be read off by comparing the proper indicating lines29, 30 or 31, with the scale on the plate 32, which will indicate theexact position of the point with respect to the edge of the particularformer being employed, that is to say whether it is at a position to cutthe same size as the size of the former or a size greater than or lessthan that of the former.

In Fig. IV, I have illustrated an alternate construction to Fig. III, inwhich in place of having the three lines from which to take readings Ihave merely the central line 29, the plate 32 being held by a thumbscrew 33 in place of a plain screw and being adapted to be self-adjustedaccording to the adjustment given to the cutting point. If desired thisfeature may be taken care of automatically, however, as illustrated inconnection with Fig. VII, in which a con struction similar to Fig. IV isshown, with the exception that the screw 33 is eliminated and in placeof the screw the rotated position of the plate 32 is controlled by thepin 33 on the extension of the latch 25, while the depth of notches orsockets 24 in the head 22 in which the latch fits is so adjusted thatwhen the latch strikes the bottom of the socket to lock the head ineither of its three adjusted positions the plate will have beenautomatically shifted to give the correct reading.

In Figs. V and VI, I have illustrated a further modification of mydiamond point, in which the bar 19 is provided with an arcuate groove,in which rides an arcuate head 22, the curvature of the groove and headbeing about the point of the diamond as a center so that the position ofthe point remains unvaried for the several adjustments to accommodatethe difierent forms of lenses.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the construction and operation of my improved cutter should bereadily apparent, and it will be seen that I have provided a simple anddurable machine, in which a battery of formers is employed in connectionwith means for selectively en gaging the formers, whereby any desiredshape may be attained without the necessity for interchangement offormers as has hith erto been required, and it will further be notedthat my single diamond may be readily set to cut any desired curvatureof surface and that I have provided means which may be either manual orautomatic in character for taking care of the variance, if any, inposition of the diamond point so that the correct reading may beaccurately obtained from the scale irrespective of the particularadjustment of the point.

I claim 1. A lens cutter, including a rotatable table and a spindlerotatable therewith, a battery of formers on the spindle, a cutterbearing arm, and means on the arm for selectively engaging the formersto control the shape outlined by the cutter.

2. In a lens cutter, the combination with the cutter table and a guidingformer, of a pivoted cutter arm, means on the arm for engaging the guideformer, a shiftable bar carried by the arm, and a cutting point carriedby the arm and angularly adjustable relative thereto.

3. A lens cutter, including an angularly adjustable cutting point, meansfor transversely shifting the cutting point, means for indicating theamount of transverse shifting of the cutting point, and means forcompensating on the indicating device for the angular adjustment of thecutter.

4:. In a lens cutter, the combination with a cutter arm, of atransversely slidable bar carried by said arm, means for transverselyshifting the bar, a cutter point adjustably mounted on the bar, andmeans for indicating the adjustment of the bar and cutter.

5. In a lens cutter, the combination with a rotatable table andsynchronously operating spindle, of a battery of formers carried by thespindle, a cutter arm, means on the cutter arm for selectively engagingthe formers, a transversely shiftable cutter carried by the arm, meansfor shifting the cutter, and means for indicating the adjustment of thecutterrelative to the edge of the selected former.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a lenssupporting table, of a battery of formers arranged concentric therewith,a cutter arm, a contact head carried by the cutter arm having a seriesof eccentrically arranged ribs adapted for selective engagement with theseveral formers of the battery, means for indicating the adjustment ofthe contact head, and a cutter carried by the arm and shiftabletherewith and with respect thereto for operatively engaging a lens onthe table.

7. A lens cutter, including a table and a battery of formers arrangedconcentric therewith, a cutter arm, a contact head carried by the armand having portions for se lectively engaging the several formers of thebattery, a cutter, and means for relatively adjusting the head andcutter to vary the size of the selected form which is inscribed on thelens.

8. In a lens cutter, the combination with the cutter arm, of a barslidable in the arm, a cutter carried by the bar, a rack on the bar, apinion carried by the arm and meshing with the rack whereby shifting ofthe arm rotates the pinion, and a cooperating scale and indicator on thearm and pinion for indicating the adjustment of the bar and cutter.

9. In a lens cutter, the combination with a cutter arm, of an angularlyadjustable cutter carried thereby, means for varying the transverseposition of the cutter for a given adjustment, a scale and indicator forregistering the transverse adjustment of the cutter, and means forvarying the position of one of the two last named parts to compensatefor angular adjustment of the cutter.

10. In a lens cutter, the combination with the cutter arm, of anangularly adjustable cutter carried thereby, means for transverselyshifting the cutter with respect to the surface to be operated upon,means for indicating the amount of transverse shift, and an automaticcompensating device operable by the angular adjustment of the cutter foradjusting the scale according to the angular position occupied by thecutter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

ARTHUR A. ARNOLD. Witnesses EDITH M. HALVORSEN, ESTHER M. LAFLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G."

